


Twila's Ghost

by Lunarium



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Children, Established Relationship, F/F, F/M, Fix-It, Ghosts, Hiking, M/M, Multi, Nature, Not Epilogue Compliant, Polyamory, Post-Canon, Soulmates, Summer Vacation, Team as Family, Vacation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-30
Updated: 2019-06-30
Packaged: 2020-03-29 19:42:42
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,533
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19026628
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lunarium/pseuds/Lunarium
Summary: It’s summertime, and Team Voltron are taking a well-earned vacation to a place King Alfor had built ten thousand years ago, but the hotel itself houses strange tales that’ll force them to face the past, and one more chance to alter an old enemy’s fate.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [LyricalMelody](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LyricalMelody/gifts).



> Written with much love for my recip! I absolutely adored your prompt and I had tremendous joy writing this! ♥️

“Are you sure Lance is the best person to be driving right now?” Pidge commented irritably.

“Yeah,” Hunk laughed sheepishly behind Allura’s seat. “Three Nuversian expressos and one Lance don’t exactly mix well together. Couldn’t Coran drive?”

“I think he’s doing a fantastic job!” Allura said brightly. “He’s memorized the streets so well—look how well he’s performing on little sleep!”

“Yeah!” Lance agreed, one eye visibly twitching from the rearview mirror. “I could do this in my sleep!”

“Please don’t,” Keith begged as Lance, wide-eyed, swirled just in time, avoiding a massive sculpture of King Groggery the Infirm. 

“See?” Lance announced proudly. “I memorized the landmark here from last time so— _hey, who put that tree there?!_ ” 

The other passengers held tight as the van made another dramatic swerve. 

“Like I was saying,” Lance continued, turning his head around to address everyone else in the long Altean van, “I got this under control!”

 _“Lance!”_ Shiro shrieked, half-pissed and half-terrified, and the van swerved for the third time as Lance beautifully saved them all from early death for a third time in a row, this time avoiding crushing an adorable baby _klanmüirl_ that had just strayed down the road. A string of curses, loudly spoken regrets, and one retched sounds later, and they were back on the road.

“He’s certainly improved from the last time we drove here!” Coran announced proudly at the back of the van, rainbow visor bouncing on his vibrant orange hair. Romelle yelped and buried her head under the seat as everyone else—save for Allura—groaned. Krolia pressed herself closer towards the window, perhaps thinking of all the times she had brushed against death during Blade missions and fighting alongside her son, and the irony should her fate fall at the hands of one over-caffeinated human being not out on a battlefield, but during a bright sunny day of New Altea. 

Over behind Lance and Allura, Pidge sighed in resignation to her fate and leaned against Hunk who draped a protective arm about her. In front of Krolia her son squeezed hands with his husband Shiro while they quietly studied the view together. Leaning down, Krolia pulled Romelle from the van floor and comforted her over her lap. Most of the vacationing crew were romantically involved save for Romelle (who, as Krolia knew, had loved someone from the colony long ago), Krolia (who had enough of romance after Heath), and Coran (who sometimes got into the weirdest romantic flings). It didn’t mean the three couldn’t be affectionate in their own way whenever the married pairs got into their…habits, either between their married partners or amongst themselves. 

Their van road up a hill as brightly green as the path had thus far been, embroidered by rows of beautiful hues of violet, golden, and diamond tulips. 

“If you forgive me, Princess,” Shiro said after some time, “Hotel Californication is a strange name to give a resort.” 

“Oh, it was named long ago, before Alteans had ever known about Earth!” Allura said. “My father was overseeing its build around the same time he was building the lions. He had intercepted radio-waves from your world, and he loved the music so much he named it after the song he heard!” 

“Wait, really?” Hunk guffawed. “You named a hotel after a song by Red Hot Chili Peppers?” 

“We had not realized _Californication_ was not an actual word, and we didn’t know anything about Earth at the time, but we wanted to honor your wonderful planet in some way.” 

Lance snorted back a chuckle as Pidge said, “So your father thought it was a good idea to name a place after this song? Without knowing what it means?” 

Hunk leaned back towards Keith and Shiro. “They named a hotel after a pun on _fornication_!” 

“We get it, Hunk,” Keith said as his husband Shiro grimaced. “But what I don’t get is: he heard that song ten thousand years ago, but that song’s only a few centuries old!” 

Allura only shrugged. 

“Stranger things have happened to Father at the time of building the lions!” she said as Pidge popped her head over the seats, joining Hunk in grinning down at Keith. 

“Ooh, what _is_ time?” Pidge said as Hunk hummed the Twilight Zone theme. “Time dilation is a thing, Keith!”

“Yeah, the Yellow Lion’s always seemed to have a good sense of humor, unlike Red!” Hunk said before resuming his humming. Even Shiro cracked a grin. Kosmo, settled way in the back of the van, howled. Keith gave up and resumed window watching. 

Feeling guilty, Shiro stroked his hand until Keith gripped him, the whole time looking out. It was an endless sea of green, at times blurred as Lance continued to evade sudden death, but otherwise…Keith’s view was of a pure endless forest. Yawning, Keith blinked, and the green scenery was interrupted by a patch of grey in the forest; something deep within was glaring at them—at Keith. 

But it passed like a blur, though the red of the eyes glared bright as if Keith had peered into headlights. 

Keith leaned into Shiro, who sensed the shift in discomfort and responded by giving his hand a squeeze. 

“Everything okay?” he asked in a soft voice.

“Yeah,” Keith said slowly. He searched back out the window, making sure. “Just thought I saw something.” 

“Are we there yet?” Romelle bemoaned over all the noise. Kosmo’s farts did not help matters. Neither did Coran encouraging such impudent behavior. 

“It’s just past these hills,” Coran said. “There’s a little shop just beyond that. It has its own eatery if you want—Omnia makes the best banaberry flapcakes you’ll ever have!—we can stop there for some refreshments!—oh, we’re nearing Omnia’s right now!” 

Omnia’s, as it turned out, was just the nickname for the aforementioned diner and store. The actual name was too Altean for any human paladin to properly enunciate, even with Pidge’s grasp of the language’s basics. Not even Allura could, which indicated the name was of a very old line. 

The person who took over the store now was not from the original family line but, as virtually every Altean living on Altea now, from the same colony Romelle had come from, but she had taken very good care of the place as though it were her own. The grocery section was small but enough to satisfy the needs for anyone traveling near the area or anyone lodging at the nearby hotel who probably didn’t want to pay a full leg for a bottle of Nunvil, which Coran boosted was a well fashionable thing to do back in his day (Shiro had to excuse himself). The diner was located in the back of the grocery. 

“Queen Allura!” Omnia greeted when they had come in. She bowed politely, and her long braided emerald hair slipping over her shoulder. She tried not to appear nervous that a group of nine and a space wolf had just populated into her humble shop. “How may I be of service?” 

“Please!” Allura chuckled and waved her hand. “We don’t mean to cause any alarm! We’re just stopping by before we head to the hotel.” 

“Some refreshments, your majesty?” Omnia said. “My helper and I can suggest a few items. I’m afraid the hotel hasn’t been properly staffed since the planet’s been restored—in fact, it hasn’t been staffed, period. No one’s managed to stay on long there, so keeping inventory stocked has proven difficult.”

“Has it?” Shiro said. “Why is that?” 

“It’s haunted!” a voice squeaked as an Altean, sporting a stylized bob-cut violet hair and large dazzling star earrings, appeared around the corner. She couldn’t have been beyond her adolescent years. She regarded the large group nervously. “You shouldn’t go to that hotel!” 

“Haunted?” Lance laughed. “Nah, we got some of the meanest and toughest defenders of the universe here! And me! We’ll be fine!” 

Omnia sighed heavily. “Twila, please…” 

“No, you don’t understand!” Twila said hurriedly. She set her tray down by the register and rushed over to them. “Farla and I barely made it out of the hotel alive! There’s someone lurking about in that hotel, always watching, and—”

“Twila!” Omnia spat. “I told you before you, it was all in your head!”

“In _both_ of our heads, Omnia?! Did Farla and I _both_ see the same pair of red eyes?” 

Omnia shrugged. “Too much fluto beans can make any Altean hallucinate before…well, grandmother nature takes her course!”

Pidge and Lance glanced over at Hunk expectedly. 

“Can’t testify,” Hunk said, shrugging his shoulder. “I just get gastrointestinal upset.” 

“Twila,” Shiro said calmly. “I am sorry for your friend’s and your experience. But you are well, if a bit shaken from your ordeal. Nothing is going to make up for your botched vacation, and we apologize for that. But Lance is right. We have faced many enemies, and if there’s something in there, we’ll face it again as we always do: together, as a team.” 

Twila frowned and glanced towards Omnia who nodded encouragingly. 

“But…you’ll…be alone….with _her_.” 

Keith furrowed his eyebrows as he remembered the pair of eyes glaring at him from the scorched forest. “Red eyes…?” No one paid him attention, for he spoke under his breath. 

“Oh, Alone? The ten of us?” Coran laughed. “I think we’ll be plenty to keep any ghost or ghoul company!” 

Having lost the argument, Twila fell back. Allura made certain to comfort Twila and assure her, once more, that they would be fine on their vacation. Krolia showed her the weapons she always carried, and Twila smiled at that. 

“You said it’s been difficult to hold down staff at the hotel?” Krolia asked Omnia who was helping Coran pick out a few items off the shelves. 

“Yeah,” she said hesitantly. “The place doesn’t seem many visitors—I mean, we’re still a very small population, for a planet of this size!—but…you’ll be fine! The hotel’s never had ten guests at once before!” 

She helped the team load up their bags and gave them all a fond farewell, but a few still glanced back at Twila. She kept throwing them furtive glances as if convinced the apparition that had spooked Farla and herself would surely come for them. 

Again Keith recalled the hooded being in the forest. Kosmo whimpered next to him, nudging against his stomach as if sensing his apprehension; smiling reassuringly, Keith stroked the fur around his ears. 

Shiro came up to Twila, ready to speak with her again, but she wouldn’t look him in the eye.

“You think I’m mad!” she hissed, and that was the end of the conversation. 

“No…” Shiro sighed as he drew back near Keith. “Just wanted to know how much of her story and the reason why the place isn’t staffed, you know, have a correlation. Just wanted to know if we should expect trouble on our vacation.” 

Keith chuckled as his mind strayed back to the thing he saw in the forest. “Seems we always got to be on our guard.” 

“Yeah,” Shiro chuckled and leaned closer. “Life as paladins taught us that. Pity it’s so hard to just…wind down, isn’t it?” 

Keith grinned as Shiro kissed around his ears. “If you need to wind down I can help with that. Get your mind off the entire universe, Shiro…” 

Shiro grinned against his ear. “You’ll do that?” 

“And much more…” 

Having done their part of the bargain, Keith led Shiro back into the van—way in the back of the van. 

“Yeesh, she’s really convinced we’re doomed,” Pidge said in a hushed voice to the others who were still outside. 

“Do you really think the place is haunted?” Hunk asked. “The hotel _is_ old…”

“The whole planet was brought back from the dead!” Lance reminded him. 

“Without any of its former inhabitants, I should add,” Pidge said. 

“Right! I’m surprised there aren’t ghosts casually strolling among us on the streets!” 

Romelle perched on the back of the van and frowned. “It _is_ odd Allura didn’t bring any Alteans back,” she said. “Or Galra for that matter. I can understand she wouldn’t have the power to bring back someone who had died over ten thousand years ago, but…I would have liked to have seen Bandor again. And Petrulius, Gnautu, Rahz…Mom and Dad. And…Luca, I suppose, although we had our differences…but I miss her! It’s so lonely sometimes.”

“Ah, you got us!” Hunk said with arms thrown wide open, earning himself a big hug from Romelle. Always eager to join in, Lance pounced in for a hug, while Pidge waited for her turn while showing giving Romelle a hug that rival both boy’s. 

“Something odd happened on that day,” Pidge agreed with Romelle, low-voiced. “But I don’t remember any of it.” 

“Me neither,” Lance said. “Last thing I remember was holding on to Allura.” 

“I know she really wanted to see her home again,” Romelle said. “She told me so much about this place and how much she’d want to go back to it, but…an empty Altea?”

“And with ghosts?” Hunk added. 

“If you believe the ghosts part is real,” Pidge said. 

The four of them glanced back to Allura, Coran, and Krolia who were busy chatting with Omnia. Twila stood a few paces behind, frowning and staring at the ground. 

“Seems sane to me?” Lance suggested. 

The others shared a look and eyed the road they would be taking. What lay ahead?

***

Twila’s forlorn face was soon forgotten once the group was back on the road. The sunset cast a warm light over the land, and as they neared their destination, the top of Hotel Californication loomed ahead. Exhausted from being in the van all day, it was hard not to get antsy and a bit childish in the van. Pranks, obnoxious songs, laughing at Coran’s anecdotes about his misadventures with Alfor, Melenor, and the former paladins—it was a relief to know that their destination was soon coming up.

“Thank you for riding Voltron Airlines,” Lance announced in his best imitation of a flight aviator. “We are soon approaching our destination. Please keep your seatbelts on and your hands out of any lovers’ pants—”

“Lance!” Allura gasped. 

“What? You know Keith and Shiro have been busy back there ever since we left Omnia’s—Save some Shiro for the rest of us, Keith!—sorry, Krolia, I know you didn’t want to hear about what your son’s up to, even if you can peak over the seats and—” 

Krolia groaned exaggeratedly and buried her face in one hand. Coran offered her a sympathetic pat on the back. 

With one final screech of the van tires, Lance stopped before the huge impressive Altean hotel. 

“Ooh!” Hunk said, pressing his face against the glass. “Not like your typical haunted house at all!” 

Allura hopped out of the van first and opened the front entrance, calling them out excitedly; Hotel Californication was now theirs. 

Working as a team and moving fluidly, they each took luggage inside. They were the only patron party for the stay period and could choose to split the guest rooms amongst themselves however they wished, as the place had already earned a reputation for being haunted—“Nonsense!” Allura had insisted. “During my father’s time business was flourishing!” 

“Did you see the common room?” Lance asked excitedly before his voice lowered to a seductive pitch. “That’ll be great for the you-know-what.” 

“Mm, I know a more…exclusively romantic suite,” Allura said and gave him a wink. “It’ll fit all six of us!” 

Hunk’s voice echoed down the hall, with Pidge’s feet pounding down the hall after him: “What? There’s a gaming room? Sweet!— _Pidge! Check this out! Ancient Altean Arcade, baby!_ ” 

“Looks like everyone’s happy as yalmors joined at the ears!” Coran said, strolling by and stopping by their door. “This aught to be a great first summer vacation on Altea!” 

Allura beamed at him. “It’s wonderful! I’m so happy I remembered this hotel!” 

“And it shouldn’t be as disastrous as the winter vacation we took on the Blarober Mountain Ranges!”

“Hey!” Lance rounded on Coran. “I’m a much better skier than that! That was just bad luck! And those mountains _move_! Who can ski on a mountain that _moves_! Not fair!” 

Allura giggled behind him. “But you did enjoy the mouth-to-mouth Shiro and I gave you.”

“That…I did,” Lance confessed and blushed.

Coran chuckled then glanced from Allura to Lance, taking note of the eyes they were giving one another. “Well, guess I better be off then!” 

He waved to them and met up with Krolia and Romelle, who was busy feeding Kosmo a treat. 

“Looks like everyone’s settling in,” he said. “Allura and Lance are doing well, Hunk and Pidge have discovered the arcade, and Keith and Shiro have carried over their mating ritual to their new suite.” 

“Best we stay by the pool,” Krolia said in a deadpan voice. “You know what they’ll be up to in a bit.” 

Coran coughed sheepishly. Keith and Shiro had already begun, and catching them in the act in the corridor was just a bit alarming. “Well, yeah—well.” He cleared his throat. 

Romelle sighed loudly. “For a ‘family’ vacation, they sure love having an orgy the first thing after settling in. Did the same thing when we rented the cabin at the Blarober Mountain Ranges.” 

Coran and Krolia shot one another glances. 

“Doesn’t it get awkward for you too?” Romelle asked and pointed to each of them. “I mean, Keith’s your son and Allura’s practically like a daughter to _you!_ ” 

“Keith’s an adult,” Krolia said. “Whatever he wishes to do is his business. The six of them have gone through so much that if this is how they wish to, um, explore those feelings after being together intimately this long, and…” She twirled her wrist as she struggled to find the right words, “if this is how they conceptualize almost losing one another and having been in one another’s heads for so long, then it’s not for us to get in the way.” 

“Yeah, sure,” Romelle said. “But it can get annoying when you can hear all six of them fucking loud and clear in the next room! Sounds like piles of meat getting slapped at a patty shop!” 

Coran coughed uncomfortably again. “To the pool. Yeah, up we go!”

***

Allura set the luggage in their room and wiped at her brow. “Well, that’s the last of them!”

Taking a deep breath, she fell back, flopping down on their bed. It bounced under her as if it was made of air and water. The thought of sleeping on it filled her with need to slip under the covers right now. 

As if the thought of rest morphed into a person, cool fingers traced over her aching shoulders and neck, soon followed by a kiss. 

“Relax,” Lance whispered. “You’ve worked hard today. Let me make you feel good.” His hands cupped over her breasts, the coolness of his hand welcoming against her hot body, before sliding back and undoing the fastening of her bra. 

Allura smiled and moaned. “Lance…” 

He lifted up her shirt and kissed up her spine, drawing out little chuckles. Then gripping his wrists, Allura rolled him over and straddled him. “Let’s get that romantic suite set up!”

***

In the next room, Keith and Shiro were completely lost in their own world. Music blared on the radio; Keith hadn’t meant to switch it on, but it drowned the noise they were making, and fuck it—heavy metal, even Altean heavy metal, got him and Shiro in a mood.

Shiro was pinned against the bed by Keith, showered with fevered kisses and Keith pressing against him with fiery need. Shiro couldn’t stop himself back in the van although he had to cut himself short and clean up to help with unpacking. But so much for _that_ : once their luggages were tossed in their chosen private rooms, Keith had locked them inside and went in for the kill. 

“Keith!” Shiro moaned just as Keith took him in his mouth. He hated halting his beloved husband, but the night was still young, and if they went any further it might end too early for him. He gripped Keith by both arms and kissed him till he rested over him. “We’ll need to stop here if we’re going to join the others soon.” 

As if to prove his point, they heard a faint moan in the next room: Allura and Lance. No need to guess what they were doing. A few moments later, and a knock came on the door, and Allura’s voice, husky with need, asking if they were inside. 

Keith groaned as if remembering the taste of her, but he let go of Shiro and kissed him to show he complied. 

Shiro chuckled and gave his beloved a squeeze. “I owe one to you, baby.” He teased Keith by rubbing across his groin. 

After helping him out of the bed and both robed for the occasion, they head out hand in hand. 

“Saved any Shiro for us?” Lance greeted when they stepped into the romantic suite. “Heck, got any of you left?” 

“I can outlast you any day of the week,” Keith said coldly, earning himself a crushing kiss from Lance; he hungrily fondled around Keith’s body, who was already sensitive after his time with Shiro. Moaning into Lance’s mouth, he struggled out of his hold only to fall into Hunk’s arms, who then pushed him into the large bed. Pidge wrestled with his wrists and held them over his head while the other two men caressed and disrobed him in front of Shiro, who sat across from them and watched, stroking himself lazily. Allura poured him a drink and the two kissed deeply, tongues mingled with drink. 

_Fucking hell_ , Keith’s mind thought, watching Shiro before grinning. _Going to give him a show he’ll never forget._

***

Worn out but content, Keith glanced around himself. After their lovemaking the group decided to bring out all the pillows and blankets and just sleep here, entangled but together, turning the romantic suite into their own love room. Shiro was still attached to him, as Keith would most prefer it, but his other arm was around Pidge, whose was virtually buried under Hunk’s great arms. Allura and Lance slept in between them, their noses occasionally poking their bellies.

They might have seemed like an odd bunch, three couples who had found love with each other, all united under one giant robot, one legendary defender, but it seemed like fate. Destiny. They were always meant to be together. 

Keith smiled and leaned into Shiro as he squeezed Pidge’s hand, thumb sliding over Hunk’s hand. His other hand ruffled into the combined ruffle of Allura and Lance’s hairs. This life was perfect.

***

Huddled together and kept warm under the layers of blankets, each of the sleeping lovers still felt an odd silver of cold pass over them. Allura moaned and shivered, and she scooted closer to the nearest body to her. Pidge’s eyebrows knitted in her sleep but she did not open her eyes. Shiro instinctively shielded one arm over Keith’s body.

Keith cracked one eye open, ready to reprimand Lance or whoever it was who was leaning over him. But Lance was currently sleeping with his head against Shiro’s leg, his arm strewn over Keith’s legs and holding Allura’s hand. 

Frowning, Keith blinked both eyes open and glanced around. Pidge and Hunk to his left, Lance and Allura below, Shiro on his right. 

And a hooded person leaning over the sleeping bodies. 

Keith’s cry died in his throat the moment he saw a flash of red as the figure’s face looked up, the eyes meeting his. Then it was all gone in an instant. The figure was gone, and all that was left were the snores of the people around Keith. 

A moment later and Keith was pulled back into sleep as if an enchantment fell on him. A hollowed cry carried through the wind; he tried to hold on, but consciousness slipped from his fingers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Omnia, Twila, and Farla are all characters from the 1980's Voltron: Defender of the Universe (Twila is a name used for two characters, a DotU character and a Drule captain in Vehicle Voltron.) 
> 
> Hotel Californication is a mash up from two songs: The Eagle's "Hotel California" and Red Hot Chili Pepper's "Californication".


	2. Chapter 2

“Slept well, baby?” Shiro asked that morning, kissing Keith as he lathered the shampoo into Keith’s hair. Keith yawned thickly and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes for the tenth time that morning. A vision of last night still lingered over his heavy eyelids like a veil flickering in the early daylight.

He frowned. It must have been a strange dream for it to still sit in the pit of his stomach like cold lead. He snuggled closer against Shiro, who kissed his neck. 

“Someone was here,” Keith said groggily. “In the love-room, I mean.” 

“Hmm?” 

Keith repeated his words, a little clearer after giving another yawn. 

Shiro frowned. “Could have been Coran, Krolia, or Romelle.” 

“Don’t think any of them wear a hooded cloak. Or have red eyes.” 

“Hmm. Did you have Twila’s story in mind?” 

“Couldn’t have. You and the others…sorta made me forget everything.” 

Shiro smirked as his hand slipped around his waist. “Need a quick session to help you forget again?” 

Keith grinned. 

After finishing up their bath, they made for the common room where Coran and Romelle prepared stacks upon stacks of banaberry flapcakes. Fresh washed strawberries (courtesy of Hunk’s parents back from Earth), a dish of fine freshly churned butter (courtesy of Kaltenecker), and juneberry jam from Omnia’s crowned the long buffet table. Upon seeing them, Kosmo teleported off the counter and reappeared moments later under the table after Keith settled down. With a bark, he curled around the former Red Paladin’s legs and nuzzled against his knee. 

“Flapcakes! Always the best breakfast after a night well spent!” Coran announced brightly and winked at Keith and Shiro. Shiro chuckled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck in vain hope of not blushing the color of Keith’s paladin armor stripes, before taking a seat next to his husband. 

“Did anyone else hear any noise last night?” Keith said as he stroked Kosmo behind the ears. 

“I heard plenty of moaning and banging!” Romelle announced impishly, causing Krolia to gag on her tea. Pidge, Hunk, Lance, and Coran guffawed while Allura covered her mouth with her hand. 

Keith growled. “No, I mean it! There was someone in a long cloak walking between us. I woke up and saw their eyes—it was glowing red. They passed quickly but I heard something. And then…I fell asleep.” 

“Actually, I do remember a shadow passing through in my dreams,” Allura said. 

Pidge nodded. “I felt odd too. I almost opened my eyes, but…just I just figured the room was cold.” 

Keith turned to the others who were not part of the polyamorous affair. “Mom? Coran? Romelle?”

The three of them shook their heads. 

“Slept like a Targarian Log,” Coran said.

“If someone crossed by my room, you know I would pick up on it,” Krolia said. “Though…now that you mention it…Romelle, did you pass by my rooms? I thought you were stopping by for more Galran snacks…”

“It wasn’t me!” Romelle argued. “Promise!” 

“Someone else was in that room!” Keith insisted. “And I saw that thing before! We passed it in the forest way back and—”

Coran shook his head. “Nonsense! Must just be Twila’s ghost story getting to you.” 

“Twila’s ghost story, with Keith’s, Allura’s, and Pidge’s experiences all verify there is indeed a…presence here, Coran,” Shiro said in a serious tone. The whole time he hadn’t stopped holding Keith’s hand while he tucked into his breakfast with his free hand. “Everything’s pointing to the same conclusion: Twila’s story, Keith’s witnessing the same apparition twice, Allura and Pidge both sensing the same cold shadow last night, and Krolia feeling someone pass her room who was _not_ Romelle. We can’t ignore the facts.” 

“Yeesh, Shiro, back to being all serious?” Lance groaned. 

“You’re so much more fun when you’re without your clothes,” Hunk agreed. 

Shiro spluttered and the two young men laughed at his expression.

“Not sharing him with you any more,” Keith grumbled under his breath, squeezing Shiro’s hand back.

***

Allura wished to explore the hiking trail that stretched out around the hotel, snaked down the hill, and deep into the forest. As it was an activity the entire group could join in, they eagerly agreed to get out for some time. Pidge took what she called a complete histamine blockage cocktail so she could enjoy the outside without breaking into hives.

“All set for the outdoors!” she announced after taking her cocktail. 

“Let me examine you first,” Lance offered which earned him a playful smack (and later, the two locked lips). 

With the air crisp and the glowing morning sun just warm but not too hot, conditions provided suitable for their intended activity. They checked to make certain the oven was unlit, kitchen cleaned, the beds all made, and the none of the showers running, and were off. 

Sweet and tangy scent drifted from the tall rows of trees which arched far up overhead, forming a canopy over the long, winding tunnel. Allura and Coran spoke excitedly, pointing to this and that tree and giving a little trivia on each one. Coran licked a few tree trunks to sample the sap trickling from the trunks. None other than Krolia, and occasionally Romelle, dared to sample the Altean tree saps. 

Birds chirped overhead with voices ranging from those sweeter than any tune to downright terrible screeches, worse than nails and Coran’s impression of yalmors. Because New Altea wasn’t fully populated and this region especially was flourishing with nature, the streams were clean enough for them to drink straight out of them. 

“Mind the bird droppings,” Lance grumbled as he hesitantly filled his canteen. 

“They help fortify the waters!” Coran said before chugging his own canteen down. Everyone save for Krolia made a face. 

“What’s that?” Hunk asked, pointing to a red-barked tree a distance off. The closest tree on Earth it resembled was a willow tree, except its long beautiful branches were distinctly like those of human hair. Red human hair. 

Distracted, the former paladins strolled around the tall and slender tree and gasped. 

“A body!” 

Vaguely hour-glass shaped with pointy breasts, the others strayed, mesmerized, and some stood drooling, especially Lance and Pidge. 

“They’re almost as big as mine!” Romelle blurted behind them and everyone screamed, startled. Irritated, Allura dragged Romelle back towards the trail. 

Shiro sighed, being the least affected among them. “It’s an interesting tree. Maybe Coran knows the history behind it. We should ask him. Er…guys?” 

“It’s so…strange,” Pidge sighed dreamily and fell to her knees. “I want to explore more around here!” 

“Yeah, yeah, I see what you mean,” Hunk said. He met Keith and Shiro’s eyes; Keith just shrugged, and Shiro shook his head although he couldn’t help a defeated smile as he glanced back at Pidge. “You haven’t stopped staring. I get it, Pidge. The tree has boobs. Thinking of Allura’s rack right now?” 

“What? No!” She jumped to her feet and glared at him.

“Same for you, Lance,” Shiro said before picking him by his arms and made to head back.

“Hey!” Lance protested and struggled against his hero’s arms. “I just wanted to lick the sap and get back anyway!” Shiro sighed again and held Lance against his chest.

“Oh, squishy!” Lance sighed dreamily against Shiro’s chest while Keith glaring at Lance, arms folded next to Shiro, when they were all stopped by Allura showing up again, this time with the rest of their party.

“I’ve seen this tree before,” Allura said. “Jaincaranda Trees. The Willow of the First Witch. When you see one, you’ll see many—ah!”

They all saw the path materialize: the grass that was once around the Jaincaranda morphed into a pebble pathway and into another canopied tunnel. Allura was the first to approach. 

“This’ll take us away from our hiking trail,” Shiro noted. “Allura, are you sure you want to go through with this?” 

Allura smiled over her shoulder. “It’s been a few years. Diplomatic meetings, working with the new Vehicle Voltron teams to find inhabitable planets for those displaced, and restoring governments for the Galra on new Daibazaal? I miss the old adventures when it was just the ten of us!” 

“Yes!” Lance said, ripping him away from Shiro and pumping the air with his fist. His face was oddly blushed, and his pupils like dots in his wide eyes. “Let’s seize the day by the balls!” 

He took one more step and tripped and toppled over Allura. 

“Lance!” Allura groaned as she peeled her husband off her. “Did you lick the Jaincaranda Tree sap?”

***

After Lance was in a reasonable mental condition, they followed the path. More of the Jaincaranda Trees lined the walkway, eerily beautiful. Faces on the tree were just barely visible as if the entrapped woman’s head had fused completely into the bark ridge. Shiro didn’t stare for long.

They came upon a long domed gallery, the mouth like a gazebo with raised marble steps entwined with shiny vines from the nearby framing trees. Allura checked back again, meeting everyone’s eyes for one final affirmation before going in. The rest followed close behind.

They stepped onto a long, outstretched dais, each tap of the foot echoing in the dark. Tiny glimmers of light ahead sparked with life as if the sound of their approach awoke them from their slumber. Moments later, and tiny embers of green and sapphire light lined the gallery on darkwood torches. 

“Mmm, nice appeal,” Hunk commented, his deep voice echoing down the hall. 

Allura hushed him, and her voice carried. Cringing, she gave up. Not one movement they made was lost in the acoustics of the strange hall. “Father never mentioned this place.” 

“What do you suppose this was used for?” Keith asked. Krolia approached and gripped his shoulder. A finger pressed against her lips as Shiro nodded beside her. The less they spoke, the better. 

Catching them, Allura frowned. “Oh, come on!” she said. “I don’t think this place will entrap us if it hears us! It’s just a big, empty ha—OH!” 

A large framed painting materialized on the wall before her, depicting a portrait of a hooded woman. 

“Yep, it’s haunted,” Hunk concluded, “let’s get out of here!” He made a dash for it, but Coran and Romelle grabbed him by the arms. 

“Wait!” Keith said, ignoring Shiro who winced at his husband breaking his command. “That’s not—?”

“No, it isn’t Haggar,” Allura confirmed. “It’s…Sarga. She was an equally horrible witch during my father’s time. The paladins of old united together in stopping her!” 

“She’s…familiar,” Keith said, squinting his eyes and studying the painting. 

“Is that your ghost?” Shiro asked, and Keith nodded. 

“So why’s she here?” 

“I…I don’t know…” Allura confessed before growing eerily silent, her eyes suddenly wide as if the painting spoke, but only she could hear it. She stared at the shrouded face of the old witch for seemingly an eternity before Coran stepped over and gently gripped Allura’s wrist. 

“Princess?” He shook his head, smiling at himself. Some habits die hard. “Queen Allura?” 

“Sorry,” Allura said. “It’s just that I heard another’s voice. Not Sarga’s. It’s Honerva.” 

At the mention of their old foe, tension rippled throughout the group. 

“She’s trying to reach us through Sarga,” Allura continued. 

Suddenly flashes of light filled the walls down the hall, and in their wake were small windows, vibrant animated paintings showing what must have been the past. Romelle gasped loudly, and Keith and Krolia recognized them as well: the colony where the Alteans have been kept. 

The others watched as scenes of Lotor told a silent story: Lotor meeting with the colony Alteans, collecting them into the Moon base, long speeches, Alteans at the base nodding, signing forms, long discussions of their sleep, what was to happen to them once their bodies were devoid of their quintessence, how soon to expect a return back to life, to witness the fruits of their labors. 

“And after you’ve given your life for our efforts,” his words echoed into the hall, “you shall be rewarded plenty! Once I’ve gotten my hands on more quintessence, once I make my trip to Oriande, your lives will be restored.” 

“Thank you, my Prince." 

Lotor moved aside, and Romelle gave a tiny strangled cry, recognizing him. 

“No!” Romelle gasped. “Petrulius! Then that must mean—oh, _Bandor!_ ” She fell to her knees as her brother appeared on one of the windows. 

“What does it mean?” Hunk marveled. 

“Wait…is Honerva trying to tell us that Lotor _promised_ to bring the Alteans back after killing them?” Lance blurted. 

“Allura…don’t listen to her,” Shiro cautioned as he inched closer. 

Pidge shook her head vigorously. “Allura, this can only mean trouble!” 

“We better get out of here,” Coran agreed, his grip on Allura turning protective as Lance and Pidge huddled closer as if shielding their queen from the painting. They made to leave, but Allura didn’t budge, her eyes still cast woefully towards the painting. 

“Allura?!” Lance called out, desperate, and Allura snapped from her reverie. 

“Oh! Sorry,” she said. “Is everyone all right?” 

“Allura, she’s messing with your head!” Romelle cried out, enraged and in tears as she joined Shiro, Coran, Lance, and Pidge in pulling her away. Growling, Krolia and Keith pulled out their blades as if anticipating an attack. 

“Seriously?” Hunk said. “Do you carry those with you everywhere?” 

“You can’t ever be too careful, Hunk,” Krolia said. 

“Case in point,” Keith added, motioning to the enchanted hall. 

A gust wind rustled though the red willow branches, jangling them like lead wind-chimes, and for a moment a tall hooded woman appeared by the arched doorway. Moving instinctively, Keith slashed at the figure, the ghost disappearing moments later, and he turned to the others. 

“Get Allura out of here—now!”

***

Except Allura could not stop thinking of the painting. Back at the common room breakfast table, she sat with wide eyes as though an enchantment fell on her. A mug of juniberry herbal tea was set out before her, the steam helping to calm her cold and shaking hands.

“What did Honerva, or Sarga, say to you?” Krolia asked, who stood leaning against the counter and her arms folded.

“It wasn’t so much saying things,” Allura said. She picked up the mug but didn’t take a sip. “She wants something from me. She asked me if I remembered.” 

Coran cocked his head to one side. “Remembered what?” 

“That day. The day we all died.” 

“You mean the day none of us remember,” Krolia reminded Allura. 

“The time we were all in the Shared Consciousness,” Keith said, whose body language mirrored his mother’s across the room. “Well, all except Coran, Krolia, and Romelle, and none of us even remember much of what happened while we were there.” 

“It was only a few years ago but it feels like forever,” Hunk said. 

“Something’s happened,” Allura said. “I feel…I feel I had made a promise to Honerva.” 

Again an uneasiness settled amongst her friends.

“With all due respect, Allura,” Keith was the first to speak, “making a promise to someone like Honerva sounds like bad news. It’s best we end this vacation as soon as possible…and think of tearing this place down.” 

Pidge bit her lower lip, meeting Lance and Hunk’s eyes. Suggesting to tear any place in Altea was not something any of them dared to say to the Altean queen, even if she was their mutual lover. Saying those words as a Galra was even worse, never mind Keith and Allura had made one another come more times than one can count. 

“He’s got a fair point,” Coran said. “Since when had Honerva been an ally?” 

“I don’t know, Coran,” Allura said. “But I can’t shake this feeling…”

***

“Hey, everything okay?” Shiro asked, alarmed as he came upon a weeping Romelle sitting by herself at the bar.

“Do you think I misunderstood Lotor?” Romelle asked. “I never shared my people’s reverence for Lotor. I had my reservations, and those views must have rubbed off on Bandor. Although Petrulius trusted him that they would return, Bandor must have thought Lotor was trying to trick them with a fairy tale. He came back to warn me, and I was so ready to hate Lotor, I—”

She hugged her knees and wept. “If I hadn’t said anything, if Bandor went along with Lotor’s plans, Lotor would have found a way to bring them all back. If he couldn’t, he would have had help from you. I wouldn’t be alone. I’d have my family and my friends, and now I’ve doomed them!” 

Shiro lowered his head sympathetically. He rested a hand on her shoulder. “Romelle, we couldn’t have known. I never knew Lotor personally, but he was a master of deception and manipulation, even if he…if he had good intentions for the Alteans. We cannot predict the future. His actions could have still led to the death of tens of thousands of your people. We could have never saved the ones we did.” 

Whimpering, Romelle wiped her cheeks with the back of her sleeve. “But what if there was a chance?”

***

The paladins slept around their queen, burying her in the middle of a warm and comfortable cuddle-pile. A slew of arms wrapped over her as if guarding her from any nightly foe. The gesture was annoying if anything, and it had soiled the sweet lovemaking just hours before, where each of the paladins had taken their turn to shower her with their affection.

And now Allura couldn’t sleep. Although it had been a mere painting before them, surely there were eyes searching hers, just as it were thoughts passing into hers. And no matter how many times Allura closed her eyes, there the conversation played out again, loud and clear as it had been back at the gallery: 

_Do you remember our deal, Princess?_

Moaning, Allura felt a stripe of sharp, cold shiver trickle down her spine. She gasped, jolting back awake. She must have finally snoozed, but only for a short bit. Her face had buried into Hunk’s chest, and his large arm swept over her, obscuring most of her view beyond the paladin pile. 

The cold chill was still about, trickling down to her toes despite trapped under layers of blankets, with Pidge’s weight just over them. 

A shadow passed over, and Allura glanced up, holding back a gasp as a pair of red, glowing eyes, curtained between long flowing cloak, silently studied her 

_What do you want from me?_ Allura demanded through her thoughts, wondering if the witch could hear her mind.

The witch hissed—no, the sound came from Allura’s own mind—and she slipped from view. 

Allura glanced around; none of the others had shown signs of being risen from their sleep. Hunk snored gently, the great wind gushing from his nostrils blowing through her hair; Pidge’s face was peaceful, unbothered by any nightmare though one arm wrapped about Allura’s leg; Lance’s head lulled over Allura’s shoulder; Shiro slept like a silvery-haired angel; even Keith, normally so attuned to spiritual presence, slept with his head tucked into Shiro’s chest and one hand lazily holding Allura’s elbow, utterly undisturbed by the apparition. 

Allura could still feel the witch nearby, her presence casting a cold chill. She kept herself stock still for a few more moments before moving: then, without drawing breath and with each move calculated, she tucked one foot free from Pidge’s loose hold, then the other, then gingerly snaked her way between the jungle of paladin arms and legs without disrupting the sleepers. 

Free at last, she turned to the witch. Remembering how Krolia and Keith had weapons on hand at all times, she was loathe to not have carried anything on her, but brute force or her magic would do. Although it had been years since she needed her magic. 

_What do you need from me—?_

Allura’s eyes widened when the ghostly witch just turned around and…left. 

She checked back on her lovers—was this going too far?—before turning back towards the receding cloaked figure. Team Voltron never believed in splitting up like this, _especially_ without first working out a plan. They were always a team, a single unit, first and foremost. Nothing ever stood in their way for long because of that deep bond. A deep bond which, she had always been told by others, was unparalleled by anything anyone had ever experienced. 

Following the ghost together would be best. Or at least let one of them know. But waking them would mean they drag her back; Keith and Shiro would play knights in shining armor and attack the witch while Lance guarded her, and Hunk would seek reinforcements by rushing to get Krolia and Coran, and Pidge would study the situation until she derived at a solution. 

Allura made a face. No, best not to do that. No this time. 

_But remember the last time you did something when they weren’t looking?_

Her heart froze over. Her stomach clenched. 

It was as if the entity still burned inside her. Shivering, she almost fell back into the paladin pile, wishing to erase that wretched, dark period of her past. 

_I did something horrible I regret to this day_ , Allura thought. _But I won’t make that same mistake. I know better. I just have to…_

She turned back and smiled at her sleeping lovers before following the witch. 

A sickle moon was all the light offered as the ghost led Allura back through the hiking trail. She kept as close as she could, trying not to panic the further away from the hotel they went. She could have at least told Coran—no, he would _never!_ let her—or Krolia—she, at least, could have devised a plan with Allura—but it was too late. It was Allura, the silent red-eyed ghost, and wherever she was being taken. 

The red-branched Jaincaranda Tree loomed ahead, and the path again appeared to them. The sickle moonlight disappeared once they stepped into the tunnel, and soon all the light Allura had was the fluorescence of the ghostly witch before her. She steadied her breath and recalled the peace she felt during her time in Oriande. She was sure she had died then—“I seek the secrets of Life; I give my own.”—And the euphoric sensations of love that surrounded her like millions of lovers reaching forth—

_Secrets of Life. I’m a Life Giver._

—Embraced and kissed, smothered by love from every side, from her ancestors, from those of other realities, other universes long past and those still to come—

_Life Giver._

—A smile to her face and a resolve. Come what may, she was ready. 

They stepped back atop the dais of the long gallery, and the fires burst once more, lighting the gallery with more vibrance than before…or perhaps Allura’s eyes simply had gotten used to darkness in their travel. She stood dutifully, unafraid. 

The large painting ahead glowed with an eerie green tinge, and a sort of chant filled Allura’s ears. Instinctively she covered them, but the ghostly witch walked past to the painting. She stretched out her arms, touched the painting, and then turned around. 

“Do you remember, Allura?” Honerva’s voice echoed down the hall before she seeped into the painting, taking up space beside Sarga. 

“Allura?” 

Allura gasped and spun around. Shiro was by the doorway, as were Keith, Hunk, Lance, Pidge…

“Everyone…” Allura sighed heavily. “Did you follow me?” 

“What’d you expect?” Lance said. “Leave you to get mauled by Twila’s Ghost? Uh, no way!” 

“We thought about telling Coran but decided we needed someone back at the hotel, just in case,” Hunk added. 

Allura smiled. “I’m glad you’re here.” 

“So it really was Honerva?” Keith said. “She’s back?”

“Not…really.” Allura glanced at the painting. “It’s Sarga delivering a message for her.” 

“You said that before,” Shiro pointed out. 

“Yes, but I think I know why now!” Allura said. “That day! The Shared Consciousness! Don’t you remember what happened?” 

“Not a thing,” Hunk said. “Just some screaming, fighting, bright lights, then—Altea!” 

“That’s the gist of it,” Allura said and chuckled. 

“And I remember holding on to Allura!” Lance said. 

“That too,” Allura said. “And I had made a promise to Honerva. Let’s show you what Honerva and I remember.” 

The others stared at Allura, confused. Smiling at them, Allura took them to the series of windows, where it had before told the story of Lotor, and placed her hand over one. The image changed, and they saw themselves just a few years ago in the Shared Consciousness.

***

Honerva lay on her knees before them, defeated. All other realities had been destroyed, but the paladins looked on at the woman with compassion. Allura had taken Honerva’s clawed hands and spoke with such sweet words while she showed her memories of her life—her mother, her time earning an education, goofing off with Alfor, her services to other planets—all of the good she has done in the universe, a life not wasted.

Allura watched as the grief ebbed in Honerva’s eyes, but it was only for a short while. 

How to fix the realities? Honerva watched the paladins theorizing silently— _These are the people my son befriended and trusted? This is the woman he loved?_ —before finally speaking. 

“This was my doing. I’ll have to fix this. But…I don’t think I can do it alone.” 

“Then I will join you!” Again the soft, lithe hands were in hers, an expression of utmost friendship and love, and Honerva was taken back, but not as much as the princess’s friends. There were loud protests, their voices like nails on chalkboards, and the waterworks came soon after. Honerva watched as Allura gave each of the primitive paladins a teary goodbye.

A fit punishment, she thought gloomily. Lotor died because of them. Honerva’s family was torn apart because of them. The paladins could be apart in the end. 

“I’m sorry,” Allura said with a chuckle, wiping a tear as she returned to Honerva. “It’s just not going to be easy not being with them.” 

Honerva nodded slowly. Good.

“But if I could, I’d rather it be me than them, then all of them, even Lotor. If I could somehow bring him back.”

Taken aback, Honerva had no time to dwell on the matter, for at that moment five other voices called out to Allura and then she was surrounded by her friends once more. 

“We’re going with you, Princess,” the Champion insisted. 

“You mustn’t!” Allura gasped. 

“We all agreed to it,” The Red Paladin said. “We’re a team, Allura. If you’re going to sacrifice yourself for all realities, we’re going with you.” 

“It’ll be like that time with the Robeast back on Earth,” The Yellow Paladin said, and Allura nodded, remembering whatever battle her comrade recalled. 

“We fight together, we die together!” 

Allura turned towards Honerva, and she was surprised to find tears and begging in her eyes. “Will their quintessence be enough, Honerva? Or will they be sacrificing themselves in vain?”

This would have been the perfect time to drag them all to their deaths, but what was there to gain? Honerva studied them carefully—there was something about the Red Paladin, he had a strange sensitivity to heaps of quintessence and could almost bend it to his will, and the Champion himself had been treated with quintessence during her many experiments on him in the past. 

“All of us together should be enough to restore all realities,” Honerva finally spoke, and Allura half laughed, half-hiccuped. Running up to Honerva, she shocked her with a quick hug before running back to the paladins. 

“We’re going to be together,” she wept to them. “I’m so sorry!” 

“It’s fine, Allura,” the others said. “We were always meant to be together.” 

Honerva glanced away, sick to her stomach. Even in death the paladins were victorious. And meanwhile, where was Zarkon? Lotor, the boy she tore all of realities for? She searched the horizon of white as her heart sank, waiting for the people of her past who never came—Alfor, Melenor, Trigel, Gyrgan, Blaytz, Zarkon, Lotor, her own mother and father—all the people she had wronged, all the people she once loved. 

The paladins positioned themselves around her, and Allura took Honerva’s hand. Honerva glared at her, mentally asking, “What is this? Think we’re at some sort of amusement park?” 

But Allura beamed up at her with large, sparkling eyes, shimmering with tears, teeming with gratitude that Honerva didn’t think the princess should be feeling for one who had taken away so much from her. Too mushy. 

Glancing down the line, she studied the other paladins, her temporary new family before…before whatever came next. Honerva was never one for faith; science had always covered all basis for her. They were ready. They were all about to do this willingly. 

Frowning towards the blinding light, she began the march. Not like she had any final words to say to her foes. Welcome to Hell? It’s been an honor fighting with you all? She was never one for polite conversation. 

Just as they reached the threshold, the veil right between life and what came beyond, Allura hiccuped, and squeezed Honerva’s hand tighter. 

“Thank you, everyone,” she said, “but I can’t let you do this to yourselves. It’s been an honor fighting alongside you.” 

Before the others could protest, their bodies lit up, their quintessence glowing about them as Allura willed their quintessence into her own body, and then, her voice harsh against the blowing of the wind issuing from the threshold, Allura cast the five out of the Consciousness just as the blinding light swallowed her and Honerva. 

“What have you done?” Honerva demanded, enraged. 

Allura fell to her knees and dissolved into tears. The blinding flash was gone, and all that remained was an eternal cosmos, shimmering pink and purple, just like the Shared Consciousness, but…the paladins were no longer there, and somehow Honerva knew…they were separated forever. She could sense the realties being restored, and the paladins were all returning to life, Coran, the Galra, the Alteans, the humans of Earth—everyone, while they, and only they, remained here. 

“I’m a Life Giver!” Allura wailed, hugging her knees. “I’ve taken their quintessence so they won’t have to die. I gave them Life in exchange for my own. B-b-but I’m going to miss them, Honerva! T-t-they’re my family! My friends! Lance! Oh, Lance!” 

Honerva rolled her eyes. _I’m stuck with this whiny bitch forever._

Yet Honerva’s own heart, loathe as she was to admit, hadn’t survived the threshold intact. Witnessing the paladins all embracing Allura, begging her to stay, then Allura’s bright moment of happiness, thinking they could all be together in death, then her alarm, refusing to see them hurt, and now her grief—it shattered through the witch’s heart until Honerva had to look away as a few of her own tears fell. 

_Damn you!_ she thought. _You are a far better person than I could have ever been!_

Collecting herself, she took a few deep breaths. The afterlife was…empty. Or perhaps _this_ afterlife is all they had to look forward to if they had come from the Shared Consciousness. Perhaps as volunteers for keeping all realities intact, this was all there was to it. No family, no friends, no end in sight…

Looking about, Honerva nodded her head. 

_Very well, then. This will be my punishment._

“Get up,” she ordered Allura as she turned back around. 

Allura glanced up, confused. Her eyebrows furrowed. “You can’t hurt me here. We’re both dead.” 

Honerva smiled grimly. “I’m not planning on hurting you. Get up, Princess Allura.” 

Hesitantly, Allura complied and faced Honerva. “What do we do now? How do we know the realities are all truly fixed? How much time has passed?” 

“That’s not for you to worry,” Honerva said. “You’re going back.” 

“What?” 

Honerva chuckled. “Did you forget _I’m_ a Life Giver as well?” 

She placed one hand on Allura’s cheek, the other gripping hold of Allura’s shoulder so she would not escape. 

“But promise me this,” Honerva said. “There is much love inside you. You’ve brought back all of the paladins. You have the power to bring back whole worlds. And…even should he live the rest of his life hating me, I wish my own son Lotor to return. Bring him back.”

Teary-eyed, realizing her chance of returning to her friends, Allura nodded. “I promise.”

***

“No way…” Hunk gasped. “Man, this whole time…Twila’s ghost was actually Haggar? And-and-we-we had—you had—”

“So _that’s_ what happened that day!” Pidge mused loudly. 

Allura nodded. “And like the rest of you, I returned with little memory. And now Honerva’s spirit has sought Sarga as a vessel, to remind me of my promise. She must have appeared to Twila in hopes of her relaying the message to me, but Twila had gotten scared and ran off. Luckily for Honerva, we happened to come here to hear Honerva’s message for ourselves. My promise.” 

“But are you going to actually do it?” Lance asked. “I mean, Lotor being back is worse than Haggar being back!” 

Shiro frowned. “Would he really be worse? I spoke with Romelle earlier, after we saw the Lotor visions, and she seems hesitant on what she believed from before.” 

Keith nodded next to him. “Yeah, I admit in retrospect Lotor _could_ have been acting truthfully. He’s not easy to read.” 

“There’s always two sides to a story.” 

“But can we risk bringing him back?” Pidge asked. “He’s done us dirty in the past!” 

“You weren’t there, Shiro!” Lance said. 

“I was in the Black Lion’s consciousness,” Shiro reminded him. “I very much was aware what he did to you and to the Galra generals! I also have memories from my clone that showed a softer side to him!”

“Ah, man, remember when he took us to Galra H.Q.?” Hunk bemoaned to Pidge. “And we made friends with those two Galra guards? And Fun-Sen? Ah, those were the good ol’ days!” 

“He used Allura!” Lance snapped. 

“Didn’t you hear Shiro?” Keith shouted. “There’s always two sides to every story!” 

“You’re just saying that because you’re Galra!” 

“Silence!” Allura held up her hands. “We need to look at the big picture. Honerva destroyed virtually all of realities for her son. She loved him more than anything in the world. When he was born, she wasn’t in her right mind and didn’t even realize she had a child. It wasn’t until he was already leading a general army of his own when she remembered. But by then, it was too late.” 

“Doesn’t excuse all the reality-tearing, but go on,” Hunk interjected. 

“Lotor grew up with harsh governesses,” Allura continued, ignoring Hunk’s statement, “and while he knew the truth he refused to acknowledge her. She tried to earn his love because she had lost her husband, who she had also just begun to remember, but of course…no luck.”

“Are you trying to make us feel back for Honerva?” Lance asked. 

Allura sighed. “What I’m saying is, Honerva’s motives is what got us into this mess a few years ago. When she saw us together, she began to wonder if she had gone about things all wrong. When she took my quintessence so she could restore realities by herself, she no longer wanted to seek Lotor’s love and forgiveness. She just wanted to see him alive. She just wants to give him a second chance.” 

“Which brings us back to our original dilemma,” Shiro said, staring up at the ceiling at the same time as Keith turned his head down, folding his arms together. 

“What do you say, Allura?” Keith asked before any of the others could begin their protests. 

“I say we continue being the paladins we’ve always been,” Allura said. “For a short while I held all of your quintessence inside me. I felt you all in me and that’s why being apart hurt so much.” 

“And that’s why…when you returned, we…” Pidge gasped. 

Allura nodded. “Yes, Pidge. Why we all fell in love. We were meant to be. Although you and Hunk go as far as the Garrison since the night you found Shiro, and Shiro and Keith go back the farthest, and Lance and I—” she chuckled, “—ever since I woke up in his arms and found his ears hideous—although we may break up into smaller units, like the Voltron Lions we are meant to come together. We are meant to converge. We are meant to always stand together, fight together, or fall together.”

She held out her hands as they glowed. Lance took one side and Keith the other. Shiro took Keith’s hand as Pidge took Lance’s, and both Shiro and Pidge took Hunk’s hands as the surge of their shared quintessence flowed through them. 

“We can do this,” Shiro said. “We can face whatever consequence this night brings.” 

Keith nodded. “There has never been a challenge we’ve run from.” 

“Ah, man, I actually miss this!” Hunk said and both Lance and Pidge laughed. 

Smiling proudly of her lovers, Allura turned towards the painting. “What will come in the future, we will face together as the Paladins of Voltron.”

The others spoke their affirmations as Allura pressed the palm of her hand on the painting, and the entire gallery lit up in hues of violet and coral.


	3. Chapter 3

“Sir? Prince Lotor?” 

Lotor’s eyes fluttered, then flashed wide open. Screaming, he jolted awake, gasping for breath in his cot, and the Altean jumped a few feet. Glancing about himself, blinking back the sharp morning rays through the cracks of the softastone abode, he regarded his surroundings with suspicion. 

_Couldn’t be…_

There was no way he could be back here. Surely he was hallucinating. Or… 

Was this the afterlife? Or some sort of ‘Hell’, as some civilizations believed? Or perhaps…

“Erm, Prince Lotor…?” 

“Luca?” Lotor regarded the red-haired Altean who had woken him. She was one of his most devoted advisors, and right now she studied him as if uncertain she should approach any closer. “Apologies for my rude behavior. I must have been, ah, having quite the deep dream prior to my waking—”

“Sir, if you don’t mind me saying,” Luca said and collapsed to her knees beside his bed, “I don’t remember coming here. I had died.” 

“Oh.”

_Well, then, that makes two of us._

“Really?” Lotor said. “Perhaps you were dreaming as well?” 

“No, Prince Lotor,” she said with a firm shake of her head. “I had died. On another planet.”

“Another planet? How did you get there? How did you end up back here?” 

“I do not know how I ended back here, sire, but I remember clearly how I got there. I was on a mission to take out the paladins of Voltron.” 

At the flash of recognition in his eyes, Luca leaned forward, eager to speak more of her story. “Your…mother, Prince Lotor,…the one who called herself Empress Honerva.” 

Lotor’s fingers clenched his bedsheets. _Damned witch!_

“She is no empress!” Lotor hissed under his breath. At Luca’s hesitant expression, he softened and motioned for her to continue. “Apologies for cutting you off. Please, proceed.” 

“She came to the colony years after we last saw you. She told us the Voltron paladins killed you. We believed her because you had spoken so fondly of your mother before.” 

“That I have,” Lotor admitted. “Although I’m afraid the Honerva you met was not the same as the Honerva who was my mother.” 

Luca frowned. “If only we had learned the same! It was too late! We were taken out of the colony to avenge you. I made certain she would make me the first to seek revenge for you, my Prince, but…my life was taken. The last thing I recall, I was in their medbay.” 

“Who’s medbay?” 

“The Earthlings. They weren’t cruel to me, Prince Lotor. They could have left me for dead; my mech had fallen into the ocean and I was stuck there for weeks, months…but…they dug me out and kept me on a life support. They brought me food, they tended to my injuries. I was scared of them, but they spoke gently to me, and when they thought I couldn’t understand their tongue they brought some Alteans to speak with me, including…including Romelle, from this colony.”

Lotor’s nostrils flared. “Go on.” 

“They were monitoring me, and I saw Romelle—you know how much trouble she’s been giving us—we began to argue—and then—” Luca gave a tiny shrug. “I don’t remember anything else besides my chest seizing, and for a moment I saw Empress Honerva’s eyes boring into mine. 

“And then…I was here.” 

“Not a very exciting dream,” Lotor pondered, careful to place as much amusement as he could. 

“Did you see the Empress before your death?” 

“No…but it is true the paladins and I were locked in combat prior to my demise,” Lotor said. “Though I wouldn’t go the extent of declaring them as my murderers.” 

Seeing the rue on her face, he placed a hand on her shoulder. “Chin up, Luca. The witch Haggar’s talent has always been to manipulate the minds of those around her. An entire colony fell under her enchantment simply because they were not aware of her powers. I should have warned you before parting, but it had been my hope the day would never come when you would be subjected to the witch of Zarkon. I blame not one of you for falling under her spell.” 

He slipped out of the cot and made for outside. Never had he witnessed the colony so bare before, especially not for this time in the morning. Workers would be busy picking at the rice field, fishers not too far behind at the lake. The sound of the primitive factories would set the tune with the birds every morning. Where were the acpriberry pickers? The orchards were just teeming with the vibrant fruit! Where were the younger school children chaperoned by a teacher as they were taught their alphabets and sang songs while playing in the wide, open fields before being ushered back to their single-room classes? 

“Prince Lotor!” Another Altean—Lotor recalled his name being Bokar—ran up to them, followed by another, a woman named Corral. 

“Well, good to see there are others about!” Lotor said. 

“And under such strange circumstances!” Bokar said. “Prince Lotor, if you would pardon me…but the last thing I remember, you, or what she proclaimed _was_ you, had killed me!” 

Lotor stilled. Turning back towards Luca, he motioned silently towards Bokar and Corral as if begging her to verify his testaments. 

But she shook her head. “I don’t know, Prince Lotor. I died very soon after Empress Honerva sent me to Earth.” 

“Don’t say that name in my presence,” Lotor hissed. “Her name is _Haggar_. She is not my mother!” 

Bokar and Corral flinched. 

“I’m sorry, sir, but you spoke so highly of your mother before,” Luca said, “and…there is the family resemblance.” 

“I did,” Lotor said. “But what you saw was not…” He sighed, feeling defeated. “You’re right, there _is_ a family resemblance, there’s no use arguing a fact. 

“Tell me everything that happened. Tell me everything you know.” 

The Alteans went into their tale. Of the three, Corral had lasted the longest; she was destroyed by Honerva herself right before what Lotor had assumed was the final battle between his mother and Voltron. And right before her own death, Merla had turned sides and aided the paladins. 

Well, then. Things certainly had been eventful after his passing. 

But piecing their tale together, something became apparent, and Lotor’s stomach turned. The mystery of the missing Alteans was soon answered well enough, but why _they_ were here, and who, possibly, else…

“Notice that the only Alteans who are still on the colony are those who have died?” he noted to them after the three were done sharing their tales. “There are…plenty more of us, and I know where to find them.” 

Lotor led them to one of the last Altean spacecrafts on the colony. With just enough fuel to carry them to the second base, they left. Lotor glanced back, spotting a few more Alteans as the craft put more distance between themselves and the solid ground.

He made note to find a means to return. He will not leave anyone behind. And they would be needing the goods from the colony for the idea he had brewing in the back of his mind. 

“So this is the second colony,” Luca mused as they neared the moon base. “I never knew where it was located, and Empress—er, Haggar—couldn’t find it, not that I thought she would have had much use for it anyway.” 

Lotor smirked. “My mother is a fool to not realize how useful the moon base is.”

“Plenty of quintessence stores?” Corral asked.

“Oh, there is that,” Lotor said with a nod. “But so much more. Clearly, she never understood my true purpose for the Alteans. Never, indeed, had the paladins. They knew I was taking away their quintessence—I did not deny that. But they didn’t realize I was only borrowing them.”

Bokar leaned forward. “Haggar took us to Oriande. She too was a Life Giver. She could have—”

“Been the hero I wouldn’t have managed to be?” Lotor finished. “For I had failed during my quest in Oriande. Indeed she had failed to do what I had sought, or it would have tipped favors to her side considerably.”

***

Unsurprised, Lotor was greeted with the sight of many more living Alteans, including Romelle’s brother, Bandor, who Lotor himself had dragged back to the base after the nuisance had tried to escape. Even dead he was still useful for his mission. The young Altean was full of quintessence, and Lotor wasn’t going to let him rot out there in the colony’s wilderness. He could bring him back.

“Good to see you about again,” Lotor addressed the short Altean, who jumped, startled, and regarded Lotor like a three-antlered cosmic deer-moose in headlights. 

“I—”

Lotor smirked. “Did I not say I would restore all life back to my aides once I have gained the abilities? I only needed but to borrow your quintessence for my research!” 

“So the process had been a success, Prince Lotor?” Petrulius asked as he ran up to him, embracing him with vigor that went beyond mere friendship. “You’ve found Oriande?!” 

“I’m afraid my journey had taken a few odd turns, as all memorable journeys do,” Lotor said. “Yes, I have found Oriande, but my experience there did not proceed as I had hoped. Still, fate would have other plans for me, and for yourselves, and it would seem we would still see to the same results in the end. You are all well and back, and that is all that matters! Your sacrifice had not been completely in vain, and my own quest had not been a complete waste!” 

“Do we go home, then?” Bandor butt in. “Can I see Romelle?” 

Lotor faltered. “I…there is much to discuss regarding that.”

***

Getting everyone, especially Bandor, to cooperate with him after telling them the full story had taken all of Lotor’s efforts and schemes. He would not fault anyone for wishing to stage a mutiny against him once they found a proper new home. But no one, he soon realized, no matter how they felt about him now would dare turn against him; what other choice did they have? Stuck on the moon base, they had only but one another to rely on, and Lotor saw to it that each would still give Lotor they complete devotion.

After all, working as a community would see to their survival. 

They repurposed the cyro-chambers Lotor had placed the Alteans in previously. They hunted for every bit of furniture to use for the interior of their new space cruiser. Taking them apart, the engineers among them reworked the wires, the blacksmiths reforged with what little tools they had available, and soon a ship formed in the vast hall where the Alteans all once were stacked. For many days they worked endlessly, hungry and sharing whatever rations they could find, but very little could be found on the moon, and only the thought of escaping kept them on their feet. 

“We will need many stores of quintessence to propel this ship,” Lotor mused as his subjects carried out their work. He could not ask any of them to sacrifice themselves again for this purpose, not even his most loyal and devote servants. He had no means of bringing them back, not being a Life Giver unlike Allura or Haggar, and he still had no idea how they had even returned to life. 

His feet carried him past corridors, like memory, until he found a door. Eyebrows furrowed, he opened the door and smiled. 

_Ah, of course._ He had originally made plans for these stores of quintessence with Sincline, had he and the generals never had that…disagreement. In the flurry of everything that had transpired since his last trip here, he had almost forgotten about them. The stores would be enough to get them out of this place and travel through the universe. 

_Where to?_ He needed to have a destination in mind. Something picked at his brain. Go out, farther than the colony. Something awaited him—awaited all of them. And it wasn’t danger. The excitement gripped him, and he had to see for himself what now lay beyond the quantum abyss. 

With the ship tested and ready for launch, the Alteans all filed into the cruiser, and Lotor mounted last. With the stores of quintessence ready, they took off. 

First stop, they reached the old colony. Lotor split them into groups: one-third went searching for as many Alteans as they could find. Another group gathered provisions: livestock, fruit, vegetables—anything they can consume. They picked seeds and gathered up soil into baskets to make a garden in the ship. A third group was tasked with clearing out as much of the colony as they could: old school textbooks for the new generation, legal documents and texts, artworks and printed books by accomplished Alteans they could not part with. It would be, Lotor announced, the final time they ever set foot on this planet, and he did not know how long it would be until they found a planet with proper conditions for life. 

“We’re not staying here?” Bandor asked. His arms were laden with Romelle and his belongings. The only items he wanted to bring into the ship. Lotor let him. 

“No,” Lotor said. “You and I should be dead right now. Everyone here should be dead. Something’s happened out there, and I— _we_ —need to know.” He addressed the crowd. “Take everything with you! Take the culture we’ve created here! Take what will sustain us! Take your memories! We will not return!”

***

Their journey took years. Their ship maneuvered through space with caution; as there was a gap of information after Corral’s story, he had no way of knowing if the reason for their return to life was Voltron’s doing or his mother’s.

The Alteans settled into a comfortable life onboard. One Altean devised a new calendar for them to follow, to the best of her ability based on a guess what quintant and phoeb they were on. They observed traditional Altean holidays, enjoyed seasonal desserts, and held the Annual Lotor Day festival in honor of their prince and savior. 

Lotor witnessed weddings, officiated a few himself, and was honored with holding newborns from excited new parents. Despite living on a ship, the Alteans had quickly grown accustomed to it and found new joys continuing their lives as the ship voyaged across the universe. With one less worry on his mind of comforting Alteans on the new way of life, it left Lotor to ponder on the current state of the universe. 

“Hmm, no transmissions from the Galra Empire,” he noted one day. Every day he checked for any signs, any clue as to the happenings out there. “Interesting…” 

“Prince Lotor?” 

Lotor glanced from his dashboard, surprised to find Bandor. The two may have had their differences in the past—it was especially difficult in getting the young man to cooperate with him when he needed vast amounts of quintessence—but since the beginning of this journey their relationship had thawed into a comfortable and steady friendship. 

“I didn’t want to bother you,” Bandor hesitated, half of his body hidden behind the doorway. 

“What’s that you’re holding?” Lotor asked. Either it was a meal—he must have forgotten to eat again, concerned as he was in getting his people to safety—or Bandor had finally lost it and had come to murder him. 

And then Lotor heard it: a faint baby’s cries, muffled under a blanket. 

“Goodness! Why are you holding the child like that—bring them over!”

Bandor gave a tiny yelp and rushed in. Apologizing under his breath, he settled the tiny bundle in Lotor’s arms. The child kicked the blanket off her and cracked her eyes open, regarding Lotor. Tiny golden half-moon marks lined under eyes the same color as Bandor’s. Tiny red curls framed around her round head. 

“She’s beautiful,” Lotor said. 

“She’s…without any parents,” Bandor said. “That is to say…neither parent can nor want to raise her together, because they—they didn’t exactly plan this, and...” 

“She resembles you.” Lotor regarded Bandor with raised eyebrows. Bandor twiddled his fingers and swallowed thickly. “Bandor…what lascivious deeds have you been getting up to on my esteemed ship?” 

Laughing at Bandor flinching over his remark, Lotor regarded the tiny girl once more. “If you are offering me to take your newborn, then you may considered it an offer accepted! Just please get us both a meal.” 

Bandor’s face softened. He gave a nod and ran to the doorway when he paused. “Erm, I’m not the best with names, so I didn’t think of any and, erm—” 

“Amue,” Lotor quickly decided. “Named after the most generous queen in Altean history.”

***

The planet that loomed ahead caused Lotor to suck in a shocked breath, feeling as though a bucket of cold water had been dumped right over him. Tiny Amue tugged on his leg until he picked her up and kissed her atop her head. A few more years had passed, and the little Altean could stand by herself and speak a few words; Bandor often came over to visit, which had helped to soothe over their own relationship even further. He often stayed to speak with Lotor, who was all too glad, albeit he wouldn’t confess as much, to have formed an intimate friendship. Luca, Petrulius, Bokar, Corral…it was nice to include Bandor into the inner circle.

He smiled sadly. An intimate friend, just as _she_ had once been… 

“Zuntaria,” Lotor said under his breath, pointing to the planet ahead to the attentive Amue. “I once knew a woman named Ven’tar who lived there. We worked together in gathering many stores of quintessence that would benefit both my world and hers. My father got mad because I was being, ah…too diplomatic in my approach. So he destroyed Zuntaria, and my friend went along with it. I was so hurt I hated my Galra lineage ever since. And…I was hesitant to make new friends ever since, in case I ever lost another Ven’tar.” 

“Ven’tar,” Amue repeated and extended out her hand, touching the planet on the dashboard. 

“Shall we see if the miracle which has graced my crew has extended over to Zuntaria?” 

“Ven’tar.” 

But Ven’tar had not returned. All of Zuntaria, like the colony, was bare of its former inhabitants. But the planet had somehow been miraculously restored to its former glory, the green and amber trees as breathtakingly beautiful and serene as the first time Lotor beheld them. He paced the tranquil planet, his heart aching as each step retold the story of his time here, many eons ago, before his father had so heartlessly destroyed Zuntaria.

“Prince Lotor?” Luca came up behind him. “How do you wish for us to proceed?”

How else could they possibly proceed? It would seem greatly selfish now, but Lotor hoped Ven’tar, wherever she was and if she was watching, would forgive him. Still remembering their customs, he found a tall tree they used for prayers, placed his palm against it, closed his eyes, and prayed. 

_Farewell, Ven’tar_ , Lotor thought. Taking a few steps away from the tree, he made the hand gesture when sending off the parted.

Addressing his crew, Lotor ordered for them to collect the quintessence from the planet and refuel their ship. While he studied the old office he and Ven’tar used to make plans he felt a presence nearby. Smiling, he wondered if it was Ven’tar and had to chuckle to himself.

“You’re here,” he said under his breath with affection. 

And then something brushed against his ankles. 

Giving a loud start, he jumped in the air, then spun around, going nose-to-nose with Narti. 

“Oh. I didn’t mean _you_!” 

Narti gave a hiss and Kova climbed atop her shoulder. 

“Narti!” Lotor said, chuckling nervously. “I do hope we can put aside our difference…I do apologize for ending your life the way I had, but you must understand, Haggar had you compromised…”

“Daddy!” Lotor’s heart froze as Amue ran into the office and grabbed hold of his leg with one arm while the free hand waved around a plush doll. “May I?” 

“Of course!” Lotor said nervously before casting Narti another nervous look. “Surely, you wouldn’t…a child is involved here, and—”

Narti slinked closer. Amue stood, frozen and regarded Narti with confusion and curiosity. Lotor watched, uncertain if he should intervene, his own heart thumping. Should Narti exert her revenge, it should be on him and only him, not this innocent child! 

His former general swept down and picked Amue up—Lotor lurched forward—and then gave her a gentle little hug, eliciting giggles from the tiny Altean. She ruffled with Kova’s fur, who licked her ear in return. 

Narti (and Kova) regarded him and hissed coldly just as his mind burned with Narti’s words: _Never will I stoop as low as you. Explain yourself._

Laughing and relieved, Lotor led Narti and Kova back to the ship. Confused as much as he had been in coming back to life, Narti listened to his story as she played with Amue. Afterwards, she gave her own account; Kova himself had died after Haggar had taken him for some ritual; the two had returned to life and traveled until they had found themselves close to Zuntaria, where Narti then watched as Lotor’s ship landed. 

“Strange,” Lotor said when Narti was done. “The people who died in the last war with Voltron have all come back, and an entire planet! But not lives from ten thousand years ago…what is going on?” 

Narti hissed, but she did not elaborate with a mind-link. 

“What was that, Narti?” 

Narti hissed again and pounced, shoving Lotor against the dashboard. Lotor gave a few cries, but Narti didn’t attack, seemingly more interested in the controls behind him. Perching on Lotor’s shoulder, she pressed a few buttons. Lotor watched her from the corner of his eye. 

“You want me to produce a wormhole?” he said. Narti hissed and nodded. “Of course I have teleduvs! I used some from the old Altean ship! However, I may have just enough energy for one or two jumps. We’ve been very careful in our travel.” 

He wrestled his former general off himself and got to his feet. “Set the coordinates.” 

_I have been to this place. You must see it._

He raised an eyebrow, instantly recognizing the coordinates she was inputting. 

“Are you certain?”

A loud, sharp hiss and a shake of her tail.

“Oh, all right—fine!” 

Closing his eyes, he willed their cruiser through the giant familiar disc. Moments later they reappeared from the other side, still fully intact. He drew back a sigh of relief. Beside his knee, Amue had watched the swirls of colors and applauded when they were back in outer space. 

Lotor hesitated, anticipating an attack, a trap set up by Honerva—should he have trusted Narti?—but his mother was no where in sight. 

He regarded Narti, narrowing his eyes, when he caught sight of Daibazaal—a very whole, intact, and thriving Daibazaal. 

“Wha—” 

His jaws dropped, and his eyes beheld the planet of his father’s for several long moments before realization struck. 

_Of course. Zuntaria had come back. Why couldn’t also—_

He steered the cruiser away from Daibazaal, and sure enough—

“Bless the ancients!” 

“Daddy!” Amue squeaked as Lotor fell to his knees. The sight of Altea—a planet he had never thought he would ever see, stood there before him, as real as himself, as his daughter Amue, as his crew, as Narti and Kova. Did he somehow know it would be there? Did he somehow know, with the revival of himself, of Bandor and Petrulius and the others, that a whole planet would also revive as well? Was this why he had taken his entire crew out of the colony and away from the quantum abyss? For this very reason? 

He made the announcement to the entire crew, and his heart swelled as cheers filled the radio. 

“There is still the matter if there are any inhabitants on the planet,” Lotor said and turned towards Narti. “Do you know of any?” 

Narti shook her head. 

“So just like Zuntaria?” 

Narti shrugged. 

“So you never investigated?” 

A nod. 

He frowned, thinking of the rest of the colony’s inhabitants, and then his mind flashed back to one Altean in particular: not one of the colony, but a woman he would have very much spent the rest of his days with if he could. If life had not had other plans for him. Nor for her. 

_If she is not in Altea, then where?_

The subject of population proved difficult to discern from a distance. Should there have been any Alteans inhabiting the planet, they would only know if they drew their ship closer, and Lotor wished not at the risk of his crew nor his ship. He guided his ship towards a vast expanse of greenery, momentarily lost in its splendor—oh, how he had dreamed of Altea’s beauty!—before addressing his crew once more. 

Before he could safely allow all of his crew out of the cruiser, a small party was required to clear the land. Lotor, Bandor, Petrulius, Corral, Luca, and Bokar, along with Narti and Kova left first to explore the region and to take notes. Despite telling Amue to stay put, the little girl followed him out, and Lotor simply shrugged sheepishly after Bandor threw him a look. 

“So long as our girl keeps be my side and out of trouble, I do not see the harm,” Lotor said with a proud grin. With a wave of his hand, he motioned for his small group to follow. 

Summertime graced this region of Altea. Its picturesque beauty stunned them all into silence. A sea of endless green greeted them upon dismounting from the ship, coupled with the sweet scent of juniberries. 

“It’s different than the juniberry back on the colony!” Corral said. 

“I had recreated them with whatever genetic material I could find,” Lotor explained. “What you see before you, _that_ is our true Altea.” He turned to study the skies, the trees and the hills. “And we—myself included!—get to finally see Altea for its true beauty!” 

Wind blew through his hair, rippling in the bright blue sky. A bird overheard with a tune like tiny bells carried towards the line to trees. 

“Life,” Lotor said. “But Altean life remains to be seen.” 

They had landed near a hill, brilliant green, and a gentle breeze rolled past. Amue would stop and raise her head each time a ripple of wind passed by, feeling the new, pleasant sensation, and giggle. 

Lotor chuckled. Of course, this would be the very first time the child had ever felt wind. Zuntaria’s atmosphere had been rather humid. 

“Daddy, who are those?” 

Before Lotor could stop her, Amue sprinted out of his grasp, her laughter soon mingled with several more. He followed the source to find the child surrounded by four more children, two Alteans and two…they must have been _human_. 

“Daddy, look!” Amue laughed. “Those two! Their ears…cute!” 

“Sven! Akira! Alfor! Fala! Get back here!” 

A fifth child appear, and he was the strangest one of all: tall and metallic, the boy reached the four younglings and sighed heavily. 

“I can’t keep chasing you! I’m not built to run in the mud, and you got me running through puddles! Mom’s going to have to fix me again!” 

“Then jump _over_ them!” one of the children advised while rolling their eyes. 

“Oh, come on, Chip!” one of the other children protested. “We’re making a new friend!” Amue squealed. 

“Everything all right, Prince Lotor?” Petrulius asked the same moment a tall man appeared on the other side of the field, flanked by a party of eight—consisting of Alteans, humans, and Galra—and one cosmic wolf. 

“Everything all right, kids—oh.” Lotor recognized that man, although he looked different now from when Lotor remembered him: Shiro. Shiro regarded him in silent shock, and the ripple effect carried through until both groups were silently regarding one another. 

Allura stood in the middle of the other side, regal and breathtakingly beautiful and very much spoken for. 

But if Lotor was expecting an attack or hurled insults, instead the paladins only regarded Lotor with utmost interest. A gasp averted his attention. Romelle was also among the group; eyes wide and watering, her hands cupped over her mouth. Beside him, Bandor’s face went pale as sheets. Petrulius’s eyes grew wide as saucers, but he remained silent, frozen on the spot, and unable to tear his eyes from Romelle. 

“It worked!” Hunk was the first to break the silence. “It took a few years to confirm it, but it worked!” 

“Yes, it did,” Allura said with a smile. “And it seemed it brought along a few other friends along the way—”

“Bandor! Petrulius! Luca!” 

Romelle hopped across the invisible line separating the two groups and engulfed her brother into a tight embrace, the momentum throwing Lotor off his guarded. He stumbled a few paces, coughed, and straightened his back, watching as the two siblings dissolved into tears.

“I’m so sorry, Bandor! I was so mistaken! It had taken me years to realize I had misunderstood Lotor!” 

“Do I hear correctly?” Lotor asked, perplexed. “Am I about to earn an apology?” 

“I don’t apologize easily!” Romelle snapped at him. “You still hurt my friends and nearly gotten us all killed!” She let go of Bandor and grabbed for Petrulius, giving him a tearful hug. “But yes!” 

Lotor turned back to the paladins, dazed by the turn of events. The other crew met his eyes and shrugged. Amue giggled and ran laps around Romelle, already deciding that she liked her. The other children followed suit, and soon the two groups were surround, trapped by a line of running children. 

_How things have changed!_ Lotor thought. Shiro pulled Keith closer to himself and kissed his brow as they regarded Lotor. The robot boy called Chip kept close to his mother Pidge who wore a long research jacket and had a tablet tucked under her arm; Hunk still wore an apron; perhaps Lotor’s group had barged into their family picnic. 

Allura was looking simply radiant, yet he could perceive she was no longer a princess. Lance stood beside Allura, and the traditional ornament he wore on his head was not missed by Lotor: the sign of the Altean queen’s consort. 

_Very well_ , he thought as his heart sank. _Our own relationship had splintered in the end. It’s only fair._

“Queen Allura,” Lotor addressed respectively and bowed. “I trust our being here was a result of your actions?” 

Allura nodded. “And if you must know, the rest of the colony has come to live here. We’re pleased our actions have brought back so many others along with you.”

His colony. A new Altea. 

So it was the paladins, the enemies who would become his…allies? Friends? Either way, they were the reason Lotor was alive. Why his people were alive. “We are much indebted to you.” 

Allura met the other paladins’s gaze and a silent agreement passed between them. “We have much catching up to do, Prince Lotor.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sarga and Jain (the Jaincaranda Tree) are both characters from the Voltron DDP comics; Jain was a mighty empress who favored the occult while Sarga was a powerful witch who split the robot Voltron apart. Of course, I took some liberties with this version of Sarga! XD


End file.
